The present invention relates to a liner bag retainer that prevents liner bags from progressively slipping into containers as they are filled with material and allows for much greater compaction of material within the container. The retainer strip also provides a means for making containers utilizing liner bags more attractive and providing a medium for many types of information and identification.
Liner bags, principally fabricated from thin plastic film or paper, are used today in a wide variety of containers as well as compactors for the purposes of hygiene as well as convenience. They are extremely popular for these reasons and have become ubiquitous. Liners obviate the need to clean trash or garbage containers as well as making it extremely convenient and safe to dispose of their contents. One doesn""t have to touch the container""s contents in any manner or have to carry a local container to the main collection area, just the liner with its contents sealed. Sealing is accomplished easily by the use of the wire ties, integral drawstrings, or hand tying the liner tops into a knot. Liners have become a common part of our lives and additionally have also been commonly used to store various materials other than refuse in containers.
Liner bags are manufactured in many sizes to accommodate the wide variety of sizes and styles of containers on the market. The liner bags, however, are manufactured in a limited number of sizes and generally do not fit tightly to most containers when the top of the bag is folded over the top of the container to secure it in place. This inability to positively retain the liner in place leads to slippage of the bag into the container that is bothersome and a consequent inefficient use of liner bags. Liners are usually never packed to the container capacity that they are capable of handling.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,740,939 and 5,518,136 refer to liner retainers for containers. Each discloses an elastic retainer member formed in a continuous loop and an attached connector member and anchor member. The retainer member holds a liner to a container while the connector and anchor members secure the retainer member to the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,178 discloses a bag comprising of hook and loop fastener strips along the top opening of the bag to provide a means for securely closing the bag. When supported on a hamper stand, the top portion of the bag with the hook and loop fastener strips is folded over the top of the stand. The hook and loop fastener strips on the top of the bag can be fastened to the hook and loop fastener tabs stitched to the outside of the bag to secure the bag on the hamper stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,445 discloses an elastic retaining loop for holding the outwardly turned upper edge portion of a bag type liner against the outer surface of a rigid refuse container with means of adjusting the circumferential size of the retainer to accommodate containers of different sizes. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,063 also discloses an elastic trash bag retaining band.
What is desired, therefore, is a simple elastic strip that can easily be circumferentially placed around the selvage end or folded over top of a liner bag positioned in a container, stretched tightly around a container of various cross-sections suitable for the size of liner bag utilized, and then positively fastened by means of hook-and-loop fasteners attached at the strip""s ends. What is further desired is a means of covering the attachment area of the strip or providing for information or identification to be placed on the strip.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an adjustable liner retainer to prevent slippage of liner bags into containers thereby allowing for far greater compaction and economy in the use and changing of bag liners.
A further object of this invention is to provide a simple means of hiding the retainer connectors for not only aesthetic reasons but also to provide a convenient method of attaching information.
Another object of this invention is to provide a retainer liner that can be designed to accommodate the vast range of liner bags and be attachable and detachable in one-step.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by provision of an adjustable liner retainer system comprising a container having an opening defining an upper edge and an outer surface and a liner situated in the container wherein an upper portion of the liner extends from the opening, folds over the upper edge, and at least partly hangs below the upper edge adjacent to the outer surface of the container. An adjustable liner retainer is tensioned around an upper end of the container pressing the hanging upper portion against the outer surface of the container. The adjustable liner retainer comprises a strip of material at least a portion of which is elastomeric material to create the tension to press the liner to the outer surface. A hook portion and a loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener are attached to the first and second ends of the strip. The hook-and-loop fastener detachably connects said first and second ends of said strip
Preferably, the liner retainer further includes an ornament attached to the strip on the opposite side of at least one of said hook portion and loop portion. Alternatively, the liner retainer may include a cover plate containing various information in lieu of or in addition to the ornament. The elastomeric material of the liner retainer is preferably comprised of a textile material, such as spandex. The liner retainer may further include a tab located at each of the first and second ends of the strip to facilitate operation of the hook-and-loop fastener.
The invention and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings.